Quick Facts
Do all the good you can:" Wesley sparked Methodism, revived faith.
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Life Journey
John Wesley was born the fifteenth child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England. His father was an Anglican rector and his mother was known for her piety and wisdom.
At the age of 11, John Wesley leaves home to attend Charterhouse School in London, marking the beginning of his formal education and exposure to a broader intellectual world.
John Wesley, now 17, is admitted to Christ Church, Oxford, where he will study and later become a fellow, laying the foundation for his future theological and ministerial work.
At the age of 22, John Wesley is ordained as a deacon in the Church of England, beginning his career as an Anglican clergyman and setting the stage for his later evangelical ministry.
While still at Oxford, Wesley, along with his brother Charles, forms the Holy Club, a group of students dedicated to religious study and moral improvement, which later becomes known as 'Methodists'.
John Wesley is appointed by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to serve as a missionary in Georgia, America, where he hopes to convert Native Americans and colonists to Christianity.
On May 24, 1738, John Wesley experiences a profound conversion at a Moravian meeting in Aldersgate, London, feeling his heart 'strangely warmed' and gaining assurance of salvation.
Wesley begins preaching in open fields to large crowds, a practice that becomes a hallmark of Methodism, reaching people who were not attending church regularly or at all.
John Wesley organizes the first conference of Methodist preachers in London, establishing a structured approach to organizing and spreading the Methodist movement across England.
Wesley publishes a collection of hymns that become central to Methodist worship, including many written by his brother Charles, enhancing the spiritual life of the Methodist community.
John Wesley dies at the age of 87 in London, leaving behind a significant legacy as a theologian, evangelist, and founder of the Methodist movement, which has profoundly influenced Protestant Christianity.